THE CANADIAN PRESS -- OSLO - A Norwegian gunman disguised as a police officer beckoned his victims closer before shooting them one by one, claiming at least 84 lives, in a horrific killing spree on an idyllic island teeming with youths that has left this peaceful Nordic nation in mourning.

The island tragedy Friday unfolded hours after a massive explosion ripped through a high-rise building housing the prime minister's office, killing seven people in a scene some likened to the aftermath of 9/11.

The same man — a blonde-blue eyed Norwegian with reported Christian fundamentalist, anti-Muslim views — is suspected in both attacks.

On the island of Utoya, panicked teens attending a Labour Party youth wing summer camp plunged into the water or played dead to avoid the assailant in the assault that may have lasted 30 minutes before a SWAT team arrived, police said.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said the twin attacks made Friday the deadliest day in peacetime in Norway's history.

"This is out of comprehension. It's a nightmare. It's a nightmare for those who have been killed, for their mothers and fathers, family and friends," Stoltenberg told reporters Saturday. He said he would meet victims later in the day.

The toll in both attacks reached 91 Saturday, and police said that could still rise as they search the waters around the island for more bodies. Acting Police Chief Roger Andresen said he did not how many people were still missing. The Oslo University hospital said it has so far received 11 wounded from the bombing and 16 people from the camp shooting.

The carnage began Friday afternoon in Oslo, when a bomb rocked the heart of Norway. About two hours later, the shootings began at a retreat for ruling Labour Party's youth-wing, according to a police official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because that information had not been officially released by Norway's police.

The blast in Oslo, Norway's capital and the city where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, left a square covered in twisted metal, shattered glass and documents expelled from surrounding buildings.

The dust-fogged scene after the blast reminded one visitor from New York of Sept. 11.

Ian Dutton, who was in a nearby hotel, said people "just covered in rubble" were walking through "a fog of debris."

While survivors evacuated the buildings, including ones that house other government offices and Norway's leading newspaper, word came that someone had opened fire on an island about 35 kilometres northwest of Oslo.

Stoltenberg told reporters that he had spent many summers on Utoya — "my childhood paradise that yesterday was transformed into hell."

A SWAT team that had been put on alert after the bombing was dispatched to the island once the shooting began. Police official Johan Fredriksen said that means they may have taken 30 minutes to reach the island.

Survivors described a scene there of terror. Several people fled into the water to escape the rampage, and police said they were still searching the lake for bodies.

A 15-year-old camper named Elise who was on Utoya said she heard gunshots, but then saw a police officer and thought she was safe. Then he started shooting people right before her eyes.

"I saw many dead people," said Elise, whose father, Vidar Myhre, didn't want her to disclose her last name. "He first shot people on the island. Afterward he started shooting people in the water."

Elise said she hid behind the same rock that the killer was standing on. "I could hear his breathing from the top of the rock," she said.

She said it was impossible to say how many minutes passed while she was waiting for him to stop.

At a hotel in the village of Sundvollen, where survivors of the shooting were taken, 21-year-old Dana Berzingi wore pants stained with blood. He said the fake police officer ordered people to come closer, then pulled weapons and ammunition from a bag and started shooting.

Several victims "had pretended as if they were dead to survive," Berzingi said. But after shooting the victims with one gun, the gunman shot them again in the head with a shotgun, he said.

"I lost several friends," said Berzingi, who used the cellphone of one of those friends to call police.

Police arrested only one suspect and have said he is linked to both the shootings and the Oslo explosion. Though police did not release his name, Norwegian national broadcaster NRK identified him as 32-year-old 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik and said police searched his Oslo apartment overnight. NRK and other Norwegian media posted pictures of the blond, blue-eyed Norwegian. Faiq Barzingi, whose children survived the massacre, said his kids have identified the photo in media as the gunman.

Andresen, the acting police chief, said the suspect was talking to police.

"He is clear on the point that he wants to explain himself," he told reporters at a news conference.

He added that the suspect has posted on right-wing websites.

"We don't know more than what you (the media) have found on the Internet. That is that what has emerged from the websites, that it leans towards the right and that and is Christian fundamentalist," he said.

That information dovetailed with earlier reports that the attacks were not linked to international terrorists.

"It seems it's not Islamic-terror related," the official who asked to be anonymous said. "This seems like a madman's work."

The official said the attack "is probably more Norway's Oklahoma City than it is Norway's World Trade Center." Domestic terrorists carried out the 1995 attack on a federal building in Oklahoma City, while foreign terrorists were responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

National police chief Sveinung Sponheim told NRK that the suspected gunman's Internet postings "suggest that he has some political traits directed toward the right, and anti-Muslim views, but whether that was a motivation for the actual act remains to be seen."

Though the prime minister cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the gunman's motives, both attacks were in areas connected to the left-leaning Labor Party, which leads a coalition government. The youth camp, about 20 miles (35 kilometres) northwest of Oslo, is organized by the party's youth wing, and the prime minister had been scheduled to speak there Saturday.

Sponheim said a man was arrested in the shooting, and the suspect had been observed in Oslo before the explosion there. But he refused to confirm the suspect's identity as reported by Norwegian media.

Sponheim said the camp shooter "wore a sweater with a police sign on it. I can confirm that he wasn't a police employee and never has been."

Aerial images broadcast by Norway's TV2 showed members of a SWAT team dressed in black arriving at the island in boats and running up the dock. People who had stripped down to their underwear moved in the opposite direction, swimming away from the island toward the mainland, some using flotation devices.

The United States, European Union, NATO and the U.K., all quickly condemned the bombing, which Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague called "horrific" and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen deemed a "heinous act."

"It's a reminder that the entire international community has a stake in preventing this kind of terror from occurring," President Barack Obama said.

Obama extended his condolences to Norway's people and offered U.S. assistance with the investigation. He said he remembered how warmly Norwegians treated him in Oslo when he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

A U.S. counterterrorism official said the United States knew of no links to terrorist groups and early indications were the attack was domestic. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was being handled by Norway.

live blog

Calling himself a crusader against a tide of Islam in a rambling 1,500-page online manifesto, the 32-year-old mass murderer wants the opportunity to explain actions he deemed 'atrocious, but necessary'.

Lawyer Geir Lippestad said his client had admitted to Friday's shootings at a Labour youth camp and a bomb that killed seven people in Oslo's government district, but that he denies any criminal guilt.

CNN says authorities report that the suspect said he acted alone. Norway's king held memorial services for those grieving victims of the attacks.

The man accused of killing at least 93 people in Norway has said he carried out the bombing and mass shooting, authorities said Sunday, as an ashen-faced and openly weeping King Harald V led the nation in mourning.

The suspect has not pleaded guilty, and said he acted alone with no accomplice, acting National Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim told reporters Sunday.

Police arrived at an island massacre about an hour and a half after a gunman first opened fire, slowed because they didn't have quick access to a helicopter and then couldn't find a boat to make their way to the scene just several hundred yards (meters) offshore. The assailant surrendered when police finally reached him, but 82 people died before that.

There was little shelter or chance for those caught back on the island. Witnesses told Norwegian news agencies that the shooter sprayed bullets into piles of dead bodies, apparently seeking those that were hiding among them. On Saturday night, the authorities knew that 85 had been killed, and still sought bodies in the water, or in an unchecked corner of Utoya.

“He seemed he was enjoying it” Magnus Stenseth, a youth leader, told the Norwegian newspaper VG. “He walked around the island as if he had absolute power.”

Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian man charged in the bombing and shootings in Norway's capital and a nearby island Friday that left at least 92 people dead, has admitted to the crimes, his lawyer told Norwegian radio late Saturday.

Gier Lippestad, Mr. Breivik's lawyer, told Norwegian public radio NRK that Mr. Breivik admits to having killed 92 people on Friday and has told police of the circumstances.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg (L) reacts as he embraces Eskil Pedersen, the leader of the Norwegian Labour Youth league and survivor of the Utoya island shooting, at a hotel where survivors of the youth camp attack are being reunited with their families in Sundvolden. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

In this photo taken by Vergard M. Aas, a Norwegian crime reporter who responded to the scene of a mass shooting on Utoya Island, Norway, victims lie near the shoreline approximately one hour after police say a man dressed as a police officer gunned down youths as they ran and even swam for their lives at a camp which was organized by the youth wing of the ruling Labor Party, Friday July 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Presse 3.0, Vegard M. Aas)

Police and emergency services search the waters around Utoya island for more victims, some 40 km south west of Oslo, on July 23 , 2011. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

A police officer comforts a survivor (L) of the Utoeya island shooting at the Norwegian Labour Party youth summer camp at Sundvolden, some 40 km south west of Oslo on July 23, 2011. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

A couple embrace outside the Sundvolden hotel, where survivors of the Utoya island.(Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

The Norwegian Civil Defence are seen in their camp near the Utoya island where they search for more victims some 40 km south west of Oslo on July 23, 2011. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

A survivor of the Utoya island shooting spree at the Norwegian Labour Party youth summer camp is reunited with a relative at Sundvolden. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

A survivor (L) of the Utoya island shooting at the Norwegian Labour Party youth summer camp embraces his father at Sundvolden. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

Medics and emergency workers escort youths from a camp site on the island of Utoya, Norway Saturday July 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Morten Edvardsen/Scanpix)

Medics and emergency workers escort an injured person from a camp site on the island of Utoya, Norway Saturday July 23, 2011. A Norwegian dressed as a police officer gunned down at least 84 people at an island retreat, police said Saturday. Investigators are still searching the surrounding waters, where people fled the attack, which followed an explosion in nearby Oslo that killed seven. (AP Photo/Morten Edvardsen/Scanpix)

Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon (R), Queen Sonja (2nd R) and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg (far L) meet with survivors of the Utoeya island shooting spree at a Norwegian Labour Party youth summer camp who are being reunited with their families at a hotel in Sundvolden, some 40 km southwest of Oslo on July 23 , 2011. (ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images)

Emergency workers search for bodies beneath the water off the island of Utoya, Saturday, July 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

This Thursday July 21, 2011 photo shows young people on the Labour Youth League summer camp on Utoya island, Norway when Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere made a visit. (AP Photo/Scanpix/Vegard Gratt)

This Thursday July 21, 2011 photo shows young people on the Labour Youth League summer camp on Utoya island, Norway when Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere made a visit. (AP Photo/Scanpix/Vegard Gratt)

Soldiers block a street in the government headquarters building area in central Oslo on July 23, 2011. (Jan Johannessen/AFP/Getty Images)

People light candles and lay flowers in central Oslo on July 23, 2011 to pay tribute to the victims of twin attacks at the government headquarters building in Oslo and on a youth camp, Norway's deadliest post-war tragedy. (Jan Johannessen/AFP/Getty Images)

A soldiers passes by a Norwegian flag flying at half mast in front of the government headquarters building on July 23, 2011, a day after twin attacks here and on a youth camp, Norway's deadliest post-war tragedy. (Aleksander Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

The Norwegian flag flies at half-staff in front of the Scandinavian and Nordic Embassies' building in Berlin, Germany, Saturday July 23, 2011. (AP Photo/dapd/ Axel Schmidt)

Flowers and candles were placed outside the Scandinavian and Nordic Embassies' building in Berlin, Germany, Saturday July 23, 2011. (AP Photo/dapd/ Axel Schmidt)

Police officers stand on the edge of a cordon near the site of Friday's explosion in central Oslo, Norway, in the early hours of Saturday, July 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

A picture taken on July 22, 2011 shows a damaged display window in a street of Oslo after an explosion near government buildings. (Audun Braastad/AFP/Getty Images)

A picture taken on July 22, 2011 shows debris of broken dispaly windows in a street of Oslo after an explosion near government buildings. (Audun Braastad/AFP/Getty Images)

A picture taken on July 22, 2011 shows a damaged display window in a street of Oslo after an explosion near government buildings. (Audun Braastad/AFP/Getty Images)

Victims receive emergency treatment outside government buildings in the center of Oslo, Norway on Friday, July 22, 2011 after a bomb ripped open buildings in the heart of Norway's government. (AP Photo/Fartein Rudjord)

A picture taken on July 22, 2011 shows shards in a street of Oslo after an explosion near government buildings. (STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

A person wounded in the shooting at the Labour Youth League summer camp in Utoya is stretchered off an helicopter upon arrival at an Oslo hospital on July 22, 2011. (Hakon Mosvold Larsen/AFP/Getty Images)

A picture taken on July 22, 2011 shows damaged building in a street of Oslo after an explosion near government buildings. (STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

In this image taken from TV smoke and flames billow from the shattered window of a building after an explosion in Oslo, Norway, Friday July 22, 2011. (AP PHOTO / TV2 Norway )

A riot policeman walks past the shattered glass of a damaged building after a powerful bomb blast rocked government and media buildings in Norway's capital Oslo on July 22, 2011, (Jan Johannessen/AFP/Getty Images)

Picture of the entrance of a building which was damaged after an explosion near the government buildings in Norway's capital Oslo, on July 22, 2011. (Aleksander andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

A victim is carried to a waiting ambulance in central Oslo, Friday July 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Berit Roald, Scanpix, Norway)

The wreckagew of a car lies outside a building in the centre of Oslo, Friday July 22, 2010. (AP Photo / Thomas Winje, Scanpix Norway)

Blood smears the pavement, as a victim is treated outside government buildings in the centre of Oslo, Friday July 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Fartein Rudjord)

An official attempts to clear away spectators from buildings in the centre of Oslo, Friday July 22, 2010. (AP Photo/Fartein Rudjord)

In this image taken from TV smoke and flames billow from the shattered window of a building after an explosion in Oslo, Norway, Friday July 22, 2011. (AP PHOTO / TV2 Norway )

A victim is treated outside government buildings in the centre of Oslo, Friday July 22, 2010, following an explosion that tore open several buildings including the prime minister's office, shattering windows and covering the street with documents. (AP Photo/Fartein Rudjord)

Smoke rises from buildings in Oslo, Norway, at the scene of a large explosion which tore apart several buildings Friday July 22, 2011. (AP PHOTO / Aleksander Andersen, Scanpix)

Victims receive treatment outside government buildings in the centre of Oslo, Friday July 22, 2011, following an explosion that tore open several buildings including the prime minister's office, shattering windows and covering the street with documents.(AP Photo/Fartein Rudjord)

The wreckagew of a car lies outside a building in the centre of Oslo, Friday July 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Roald Berit, Scanpix, Norway)

A victim is treated outside government buildings in the centre of Oslo, Friday July 22, 2011, following an explosion that tore open several buildings including the prime minister's office, shattering wiondows and covering the street with documents. (AP Photo/Fartein Rudjord)

Paramedics and firefighters tend to victims of a bomb blast which took place outside the Norvegian Prime Minister's office in Oslo, on July 22, 2011. (Berit Roald/AFP/Getty Images)

People give phone calls as they stand near a burning government building in Olso on July 22, 2011. (Thomas Winje/AFP/Getty Images)

In this video image taken from television, smoke is seen billowing from a damaged building as debris is strewn across the street after an explosion in Oslo, Norway Friday July 22, 2011. (AP Photo/TV2 NORWAY via APTN)

Injured people are treated by medics at the scene of an explosion near the government buildings in Norway's capital Oslo on July 22, 2011.(Holm Morten/AFP/Getty Images)

Police evacuate a wounded woman after an explosion near government buildings in Olso on July 22, 2011. (Thomas Winje/AFP/Getty Images)

Police evacuate a wounded woman after an explosion near government buildings in Olso on July 22, 2011. (Thomas Winje/AFP/Getty Images)

People are treated at the scene after an explosion near the government buildings in Norway's capital Oslo on July 22, 2011. (Thomas Winje Oijord/AFP/Getty Images)

Broken glass and debri remain at the entrance of a government building damaged by a bomb blast which took place outside the Norvegian Prime Minister's office in Oslo, on July 22, 2011. (Berit Roald /AFP/Getty Images)

A tracked high speed mist fan is used to drag a damaged vehicle away from a building in central Oslo, Friday July 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Berit Roald, Scanpix, Norway)

Smoke billows out from the windows of a government building in Oslo after two bombs rocked the Norwegian capital on July 22, 2011. (Thomas Winje Oijord/AFP/Getty Images)